WAVERLY - The Pike County prosecutor says charges against two men related to the discovery of an alleged "shatter lab" in January will be dropped.

But that doesn't mean Derek G. Boyer, of Piketon, and Aaron Higgins, of Beaver, are off the hook.

Prosecutor Rob Junk said dropping the four felonies against each man will give investigators more time to process the evidence collected during a Jan. 26 search warrant that resulted in last week's arrest.

Boyer and Higgins, both 26, were charged June 15 with one count each of illegal manufacture of drugs or cultivation of marijuana, illegal assembly or possession of chemicals for the manufacture of drugs, possession of criminal tools and possession of drugs.

On Monday, the charges against Higgins were dropped, according to Pike County Court online records. The charges against Boyer were still pending, according to the online registry, but the case is set for a hearing Wednesday.

Dismissing the charges will allow the case to proceed without jeopardizing the case because of speedy trial concerns, Junk said. Under Ohio law, criminal cases must proceed to trial within 90 days, unless the accused person waives that right.

"That's going to allow us the time we need to make sure all the forensic tests are complete, and we can direct the sheriff's office to make sure we have everything we need to present the cases to the grand jury," Junk said.

He said the case will likely be presented to a grand jury in July.

The case stems from a call placed by the Piketon postmaster to the Pike County Sheriff's Office on Jan. 26. Concerned that a package smelled like marijuana, the sheriff's office sent a drug-detecting dog and handler to the post office to check it out.

Inside the package, officials reported they found a large amount of marijuana. The package was traced to Boyer's home, where deputies reported they found a "shatter lab" — an operation that uses butane to produce a type of cannabis concentrate that resembles honey. It can be inhaled for a stronger high than regular marijuana.

Sheriff Charlie Reader said deputies found numerous cans of butane; evidence of hash oil, or "shatter," inside Boyer's home; and a tube filled with marijuana being processed.

"We've had to get up to speed on this case," Junk said. "It's nothing like we've ever seen in this county. I've asked around and nobody has seen anything like it."

Meanwhile, Boyer and Higgins remain free. Junk said the two have cooperated with the investigation and were not a risk to leave the area.

Junk said the case is not connected to the April 22 discovery of eight people who were shot to death in rural Pike County.

"(The two incidents) are not connected," he said. "There is absolutely nothing that I have seen that connected them together in way, shape, or form."